FRIDAY, Nov. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The burden of superficial cutaneous fungal infections (SCFIs) among outpatient visits in the United States is high and increasing, according to a study published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Sarah L. Spaulding, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues characterized trends in the prevalence of SCFIs from 2005 to 2016 by analyzing ambulatory visits in the United States using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

The researchers found that from 2005 to 2016, there was an estimated average of 6,001,852 annual visits for SCFIs in the United States, with 72,022,226 visits during the study period. Of this total, 20.5, 12.2, 12.0, 6.7, and 6.0 percent were tinea unguium, tinea pedis, tinea corporis, tinea cruris, and tinea capitis, respectively. An estimated average of 1,104,258,333 annual ambulatory visits occurred in the United States from 2005 to 2016, with more than 13 billion visits overall; of all visits, SCFIs generally accounted for 0.54 percent. A significantly increasing trend in annual SCFIs was observed.

"These findings highlight the importance of health care providers being able to identify, treat, and, when necessary, refer patients with SCFIs, as a high burden of disease is associated with a significant negative impact on the individual and population levels," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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